Del. Scott Spearheads Defeat of BPOL Rollback, Saves Key Revenues for F.C.

HB 461 would have begun the phase out of the state's Business and Professional Operating License (BPOL) tax by reducing and capping rates that local jurisdictions can charge.

Del. Scott said he received an urgent correspondence from Falls Church Commissioner of the Revenue Tom Clinton about the devastating revenue consequences of the bill for Falls Church.

Even though the bill passed two readings, and was about to be approved before the entire assembly Tuesday, Scott insisted on an opportunity to stand up and speaking before the final vote was taken.

He stressed that it was unfair to deprive local jurisdictions of badly-needed revenue sources at the same time the state is making deep cuts in its own budget and thereby in its ability to help locales.

Del. Scott told the News-Press in an exclusive interview late Tuesday that he was surprised when a colleague, Del. Joe Johnson from Abingdon (about as far, geographically, from Falls Church as you can get in the state), followed him by stepping up to echo his remarks. A third delegate, from Chesapeake, joined in, and by the time it was voter, lawmakers rejected the bill by a solid margin.

Scott reported that the Arlington/Falls Church Public Defender Bill, authored by Del. Adam Ebbin (D-Arlington), passed the full house Tuesday.